Visiting from SoCal. A culinaire friend wanted us to try out the dishes here. She and Benny's did…read morenot disappoint! We had very delightful food. The bistek, dinakdakan, ukoy and pinakbet were delicious. I'm definitely coming back here and telling my other foodie fam and friends. Service was fantastic. Our server attended to his customers very well. This restaurant is next to the supermarket. Best to eat here first before buying groceries.

Just finished a morning walk around Makati & needed to do a little grocery shopping. We stopped…read moreinto Rustan's & decided to try Benny's for breakfast. First the good: 1. Yes, the dalandan juice is fresh squeezed; 2. Beef tapa is tasty; 3. Atchara is outstanding!!! Great pickled side; 4. The male waiters are very attentive. Now the not so good: 1. The female waitresses are a bit . . . uninterested or slow. In fact, when they brought our eggs we had to return then because we asked for overeasy & got sunny side up; they were also very cold - - they must have been sitting around for awhile. Other than the service issue, the food was very good. BTW: They have a little stand on the side that makes puto bumbong which we took home after our grocery shopping for a snack - - it's good. Enjoy.

This is one of the oldest hot-pot restaurant in Manila. There are so many of ingredients choices…read morefrom seafood, beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, and needle. Three different taste of Soup also available. Freshness of all materials and pricing are reasonable. We can use there for business purpose too.

I am ashamed to say that I only discovered this place 2 years ago. Tien effing Tien is the bomb!…read moreThe first time I was able to dine here, we ordered off the ala carte menu but I had noticed that every one else was enjoying a hot pot meal. Subsequent visits were made and it was hot pot all the way from there. No regrets were had. (Skip this paragraph if you already know how to get there/park cause tl;dr) Tien Tien used to be located on Pasay Rd/Arnaiz so don't make the same mistake as me! They are now located in The Atrium Bldg along Makati Ave right next to the pretty pretty Zuellig Bldg. Parking can be a bit of an issue if you're not familiar with how it works but here are some hopefully helpful instructions based on personal experience of driving around in circles: If you're heading north on Makati Ave from Ayala Ave, you'll actually see The Atrium Bldg, that way you have an idea of where it is. Make a right on Paseo de Roxas and an immediate right into what looks like the parking lot/driveway of the Zuellig Bldg. Go past the lot onto the next street which is Apartment Ridge Rd and make a right there since it's a one way street. It's parallel to Makati Ave and just follows along the curve. You can park (or double park if you have a driver I guess) next to the wall and there should be an entrance to Tien Tien from the back. Semi bad thing is that you'll have to go through the function rooms which can be awks if there are a lot of people or if there's private party. Enough about location and parking, onto the food: Two things I remember about the ala carte menu is that 1) the seafood is super fresh. You can actually see the food (haha get it) swimming in the aquariums near the front entrance. 2) Eel in black bean/tausi sauce. Don't even think twice except maybe for the bones so be careful. Eat this with rice because it is so worth the calories. The hot pot blows so many other hot pot places out of the water. What Tien Tien doesn't give you in AYCE, they give you in quality. You have a choice of 4 soup bases and you can pick 2 in a split pot for variety. I personally prefer the wansuy soup base (stock with cilantro and peidan/century egg) cause I find it very light and refreshing. It also doesn't mask the taste of the meat, fish, etc too much and it absorbs their flavors too if you wanna drink the soup afterwards. Do not get wansuy if you have the genetics that make you think cilantro tastes like soap. Get sate instead if you'd like a spicy kick. The wantons, shrimp balls, and beef balls are all freshly made and take a little longer to cook so throw them into the soup first. The HK sliced beef is so red and fresh with just the right amount of fat. The rest of the stuff is pretty much standard. I unfortunately couldn't try the cheeseballs that people have mentioned because I'm lactose intolerant. Sad day. There is a sink near the entrance so you can wash your hands if you don't need to use the bathroom since it is located outside. In the dark empty building that could easily scare you if you're a scaredy cat like me. That sink is very much appreciated. The staff is great and very attentive! Very efficient and awesome service! We're sorry if we kept making you come back to pour tea, we wanted a whole teapot so you wouldn't have to go back and forth. However, I wouldn't recommend using the bathroom here because it's not exactly a golden throne.

We stayed at the InterCon for during our stay in Makati and our package came with free daily…read morebreakfast at the hotel. I'm totally not a hotel restaurant fan, but this place was AMAZING! It was actually a buffet, which was unexpected. Every morning, the staff greeted us and our party and made every accommodation. They have lots of choices for breakfast items - very extensive. Ask for the brewed coffee vs the coffee they come around and pour with. They have a custom chef making eggs in any style - omelet, over easy, scramble, etc... Lots of sides such as tocino, tapa, longanisa, arroz caldo, pan de sal, etc... Your typical Filipino breakfast staples. They also had Chinese, Japanese (sushi), American, French, bakery items, fresh squeeze juices, fruit items, etc... Every morning a couple of the servers knew our group well and I would ask for the mangoes. So every morning, Atoy would bring me sliced mangoes as soon as I arrived. The chef who made eggs also recognized me and also made my arroz caldo every morning. She remembers what I took in my congee and had it delivered to my table. Customer service is on par so don't forget to fill out their survey if they ask for your opinion. Please do leave a tip and I noticed a lot of people just up and leave! Breakfast is about $25 US Dollars per person. Totally worth the egg, garlic fried rice and pork longanisa! Oh and the arroz caldo and mangoes!!!

This is one of the best buffets, but I'll say at the very beginning of this review that I am most…read moredefinitely biased here. My grandfather used to take me and my family here all the time. There was even a time when there were actual Jeepneys in here. The tables were inside and you would eat inside a jeep. That was so cool. Too bad they eventually had to take those away though. Anyway, what makes Jeepney unique as a buffet is that most of their spread are Filipino dishes. This is a double edged sword. It allows them to focus on one kind of cuisine, but fall on other cuisines. I saw sushi last time I was there, but there spread wasn't exactly the same as other more impressive buffets. That said, I still like this place because it still has that old school nostalgia feel to it. I grew up attached to this place and I feel like I still am.

A small but atmospheric restaurant in salcedo village. The servers were all wearing Maria Claras…read moreand had their hair in a bun and spoke straight Tagalog (but super fast as if she memorized it) The food was delicious. We were disappointed that they didn't have the fried carabao cheese, but everything we ordered was delicious. The fried binagoonan was specially memorable. Unlike other Filipino restaurants, their portions are smaller so take note if you're in a large group and want to order family style. The server was helpful in making suggestions on what to order. The food arrived promptly. This is the first restaurant we visited upon arriving in Makati. The double credit card slip requiring you to sign twice freaked us out a little. The restaurant explained that one copy goes to them and the other goes to the bank. But after a few days we realized it's more common practice.

Mabuhay! This place has good Filipino food. The interior is designed reminiscent of the Spanish…read moreera. The staff are courteous and spoke in Tagalog (even on the phone when we were making reservations). The dishes that I personally liked are relyenong talong (eggplant stuffed with longganisa- Filipino sausage) and the bangus salpicao. The tamarind iced tea gave me flashbacks of my childhood when my Dad made tamarind candies. The place is a bit cramped but the food experience makes up for it.

I was in Manila on vacation. A primarily locals establishment, it was exactly what I was looking…read morefor. Authentic and cheap. There's no real menu. A la carte style, you are expected to know what each dish is. You eat, and pay at the end. I was a little wary per usual with any food that isn't cooked to order. However, I was there during lunch rush and the food was hot. Afterwards I had no stomach issues. For under $6, I was beyond full.

After all those years food is still affordable. New staff but the same accommodating attitude…read moretowards customers. Ambience is the same as before, comforting. Home cooked meals at its best!. See you again soon!

When my sister still worked near the Pacific Star building along Buendia, she discovered a nice…read morelittle cafeteria hidden in the mezzanine area of the DBP building As you may already know, most of the dining establishments in Makati are ridiculously expensive, and it is not easy to look for places to go and eat at when you are on a tight budget - either you have to rough it out in street carts or Jollijeeps, or you just have to bring your own "baon" to work, which turns into a lousy (and sometimes, spoiled) mush of congealed rice and ulam come lunchtime. After she discovered the DBP Canteen, we would go and have our lunchtime "dates" in there because it is easily one of the cleanest and most comfortable cafeterias I have ever been to. Just like any food court, the place has a small catering service that mostly caters to DBP workers. I think the lunches for employees of the DBP building may already be subsidized in part, that's why the food from the concessionaires are so cheap. I don't even know if the place is open to the general public, but we always somehow just walk in. There are also other booths to buy from, like the Fruitas smoothie place or the Wendy's kiosk. You should check this place out if you are trying to save some money. It is near most of the workplaces in Makati, and it is convenient because the food is hot and delicious. You also have plenty to choose from because they would usually prepare several different kinds of viands.

Ba Noi's Ca Phe is the more casual (and cheaper) younger brother of the Ba Noi's with which you're…read moreprobably familiar. I'm not sure when the rebrand of this branch happened - some time within the last 6 months - but it certainly is a better fit for the stretch of casual-fare restaurants along East Kapitolyo. The menu is a bit smaller with servings and prices to match. They keep the essentials when one is craving Vietnamese food: Pho, Fried and Fresh Springs Rolls, Vermicelli Noodle toppers. What is notably missing are some of the seafood options that standard Ba Noi's offers. The worthy replacement is their list of Bahn Mi's - vietnamese sandwiches served on a French-influenced brioche with your choice of filling. Head to Ba Noi's for a casual dinner before drinks at Capitol Commons. But, you'll probably want to go for an early dinner, as the parking on Kapitolyo tends to fill up quickly - check to see if there are spots available right in front, across the street the guard at the empty house lets you park if you're nice and let him know you're just going to be eating across the street.

My appointment with a client was cancelled, and so I took the opportunity to have a date with my…read morewife instead. We picked a restaurant wherein there is a high chance that both our families will not eat...and that's Vietnamese food. Ba Nois is a casual dining restaurant with black and white tables and chairs. Its walls hang pictures of Vietnamese lifestyle and culture. To try as much as we can, we ordered the spring roll and pork strips on dry noodles, large size (Php320) and the crepe with bean sprouts and side salad (Php250). Just for the sake of reminiscing our honeymoon in Vietnam, she ordered an iced truong coffee (Php110) while I tried the blended ice mocha (Php150). The crepe came out first and we were happy to see that it looked like the one we had in Vietnam. The crispy crust, eaten together with the bean sprouts, basil leaves, lettuce, and the special sauce has a nice, clean, and balanced taste. It is crunchy, sweet, and healthy, too. The noodles came out next. The combination of each ingredient makes it a wonderful dish: the bland rice noodles is complemented by the salty spring roll, sweet tocino-like pork strips, sourness of the vinegar-chili sauce, and the freshness of the vegetables. My disappointment would fall into the drinks. My wife's coffee was too light for a Vietnamese coffee, but we were glad that it was served authentically into a Vietnamese brewer. My mocha, on the other hand, was too sweet and too creamy. It was like a milkshake, and destroyed the otherwise good taste of the food. I was also disappointed to find that they do not serve banh mi. Service is ok. Ambiance is also warm, except for a certain fly that won't get off our table.

Pia y Damaso honestly intrigued me with their tagline of "Subversive Filipino Cuisine", and when…read morelooking at the menu, the dishes all sounded like interesting takes on modern Filipino food, with some fancy international choices like foie gras thrown in. My family was pretty excited to try this restaurant, and the hype increased when our food was served and it looked hella classy. Unfortunately, the taste didn't match up to the looks. The chicken pastel, the only dish I can remember from our passable orders, was rather dry. Maybe we just ordered the wrong things? Or it was a bad day for the cooks. I'm hoping it's one or both, and I'm willing to give this restaurant a second chance, because the concept just really won me over.

If you are looking for contemporary, modern Filipino food in the metro, you should try and check…read moreout Restaurante Pia y Damaso at Greenbelt. It's unique, Spanish, Chinese and Filipino all at the same time and it offers Filipino favourites with a twist. If you're ever familiar with Noli Me Tangere (of course you are! :) ), the names of the dishes and cuisines being served here are lifted from the book. I kind of like how the chef mixes all Filipino influences in the dishes. Their slogan, "Subversive Filipino Food" stays true to that. It describes how it gives the Filipino dishes its own different attitude, therefore being subversive. I specially like Spanish Style Sardines with Toasted Pandesal. It's so aristocratic and for the commoners at the same time, pandesal and expensive sardines together is so yummy! If you are looking for something more exotic, they have crocodile meat in one of their salads and tapang usa! Also dont forget to taste their awesome desserts. The chocolate lover in me was delighted when I got to taste theirs Sisa's Dementia, which can only be described as melts in your mouth chocolate cake. Sigh. So Delicious.